Castlegar man fined for fraudulent truck story
By Nelson Daily Staff
A Castlegar man has been fined $2,750 after admitting he lied to police about his truck being stolen in April of 2009.
ICBC said in a written press release Kyle Anderson told police he parked his Toyota Tacoma 4×4 on a beach near Creston and went for a walk along the beach with a friend.
After returning, he noticed the truck was gone.
A subsequent investigation revealed the truck had been involved in a hit and run in the same area five days earlier.
During the hit and run an elderly woman in the other car was injured in the crash.
However, the driver of the truck took off to avoid liability and possible criminal charges.
Anderson, who also did not have a valid driver’s licence at the time, pled guilty to providing false or misleading information to ICBC.
The judge who accepted Anderson’s guilty plea was not impressed and fined the 29-year-old $2,750.
“Insurance fraud is a serious crime that steals hard-earned money from the overwhelming majority of our honest customers,” said Steve Tripp, manager of ICBC’s special investigations unit in the release.
“We will not sit back and simply pass the cost of fraud on to our customers.”
ICBC encourages the public to help combat fraud by reporting suspicious, exaggerated or fraudulent claims to the fraud tips line at 604-661-6844 or 1-800-661-6844 toll free from anywhere in the province.
Callers can remain anonymous.
